Machine for cleaning bottles or like articles.



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G. E. LAWRENCE.

MACHINE FOR CLEANING BOTTLES 0B. LIKE ARTICLES.

. APPLICATION FILED DE()` 31, 1906. 932, 145. Patent-,ed Aug. 24, 1909.

QD LL@ G. R. LAWRENCE.

MACHINE POB. CLEANING BOTTLES OB, LIKE ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED 1120.31, 190e.

932,145. Patented Aug. 24, 1909.

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APPLICATION FILED DBO. 31, 1906. 932, 1 45. Patented Aug. 24, 1909.

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MACHINE IOB. CLEANING BOTTLES 0R LIKE ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED DEO. 31, 190s.

932, 1 45. Patented Aug. 24, 1909.

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illillllllll) STATES PTNT @lill GEORGE R. LAWRENCE, F CLEVELNB, GHIG,SSIG-NGR T0 THE LOEW MANUFACTURING OOMZPANY, F GLEVELNB, GHB), ACRPGRATION 0F QHIO.

MAHINE FCR CLEANING BOTTLES OR LIKE ARTICLEQ.

Application filed Eecember 31, 1906. Serial No. 350,279.

To all 'whom may concern:

lle it knmvn that l, @nunon ll.. liiwnnncn, citizen ot the UnitedStates, residing` at Bevelandv` in the county ol" Cuyahoga and State oitUhio, have invented a certain new and useful improvement in Machines tor(,leaning Bottles or Like Articles, ot ivhich the tollenA ing is aAlull. clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accoin-1o panying drawings.

This invention relates to inachines for cleaning bottles or likearticles, and it has particular reference to a device for scrubbint',lor cleaning the exterior of the bottles.

rllhe object oi' the invention is to produce a device ot the characterstated which will be economical in manufacture and rapid and eliicientin operation.

ln the accompanying drawings, the said 2o exterior cleaning device isshown as applied to that general type of device `for cleaning` theinterior or" bottles, that is shown in the patent to lioevv, h' o.T00,ol8, lllhile the device is particularly applicable to bottle cleners ot the type shown in said patent, it is not necessarily limited touse therewith, but niay be employed in connection with interior cleanerslor bottles oit' different types troni that shown.

ln the drawings t'orining a part of this application, 'Figure l is aside elevation oif a machine for cleaning the interior orp bottles, thevsaid inachine having niy improved eX- terior cleaning device appliedthereto. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of niy invention lookin?` at thesaine troni the side opposite that or Fig. l, said vievv also showing aportion of the Vinterior cleaning mechanism and the nianner in which inyinvention is attached 40 thereto. lf i?, is a longitudinal sectionalvieuv through iny cleaning device, taken. sabstantially on the line 3 3of e, and Fig. el is a plan vien' ot iny cleaning device, said 'Viewbeing` taken substantially on the line we of Fig. 3.

its has been stated, and as is shown' in the ig tle interior of bottleswith rapidity and i larg quantities are Well known and are commerciallysuccessful. ln such devices, hmvever. the exterior ot the bottles havenot been thoroughly cleansed, 'which cleansing requires a subsequentoperation. Vith iny )tei t above referred to, devices for clean-ASpecicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 24e, 1909.

said machines, the bottles will be cleaned beth'ontheir interior andexterior surfaces andfivill thereby be placed in condition tot' relilling.

rlinking up a inore detailed description ol the invention by referenceto the accompanying dravvfings, l represents the vat or tank of what lshall herein terni the interior cleaner, said tank being divided by apartit-ion 2, into a pluralityr of separate coinpartnients for thecleansing liquids. YWithin each of said compartments, l niount sprocketWheels 3 on each side oi@ the vat, upon which Wheels there is inountedan endless carrier d, for 'the bottles, said carrier being provided withbaskets or receptacles into which the said bottles are placed, above thepartition or partitions 2, l inount sprocklt Wheels G, at each side ofthe inachine, over which the carrier i is conducted, said Wheels 6littingl the carrier and the bott-les therein above the partition andinto position to be submerged in the next adjacentcoinpartnient of thevat. also at the forward end of the vator tanl-I, and above the latter,l joui'- nal sprocket wheels Y and 8, there being one set ot' thesevvieels at each side ot the inachine. The endless carrier also passesaround these Wheels. lnasinuch as this part ot the structure is thesaine in principle as that shovvn and described in the patent abovereferred to, ity is not deemed necessary to enter into a fullerdescription thereof.

Referring novv niore particularly to Fig. of the drawings, 9 representspulley Which is keyed, or otherwise secured, to a shalt l0, said shaftbeing` jonrnaled in a bracket- 1l that is secured to the side of the vatl. l2 is a loose pulley also on s" l shaft, it being nnderstood thatwhen the driving belt is upon said loose pulley, no power will be trnsniitted to the inechanisin of the inachine. lso secured to the shaftl0 is a pinion 13,

said pinion meshing vvith gear ll, on a shaft that is parallel with theshait l0 and that is also gournaled in the bracket ll. rihe latter shaltis provided between its bearings with a Worin l5, said vvorin gearingivi-th a Worin wheel 1G that is keyed, or otherwise secured, upon theshaft l?, .aid sha, t having secured thereto one pair of the sprocketWheels Within the vat l. Ey ineans of the shalt 17 and the train ofgearing thus deexterior cleaning device applied to one or A scribed, theendless beltll is caused to travel parallel with the shaft 10.

' I Projecting rearwardly from the tank or vat 1 at each side thereofare frame pieces 24 preferably channel irons, said pieces beingsupported at their forward ends upon legs 25. The shaft- 23 is ournaledin brackets 26 on these frame pieces, and extends to a pointsubstantially midway of the frame pieces 24. Mounted in suitablebearings, which are carried by the frame pieces 24, are transverseshafts 2T and 28, the bearings for the latter shaft being adjustable bymeans of a screw 29 so that the distance between the shafts may bevaried. Secured to the shafts 2T and 2S near their ends are sprocketwheels 30 and 31, upon which there is mounted, at each side of themachine, sprocket chains 32. Ex tending across from one of these chainsto the other, and on the outside thereof, are a series of strips orcleats 33, said cleats being so mounted on the chains and so placed withreference to one another that they form a practically continuous belt.By means of the adjustment for the bearings for the shaft 28, abovedescribed, the said belt may be tightened or loosened as desired.Hereinafter, in order to distinguish from the carrier 4 of the interiorcleaner, 1 shall refer to the said belt as the belt carrier.

The sprocket wheels 30 are mounted substantially beneath the largesprocket wheels 8 for the interior carrier, so that the said interiorcarrier projects over the front end of the belt carrier. for theexterior cleaner. Mounted upon the interior cleaner, below the sprocketwheels 3, is a curved plate 34, said plate extending transversely acrossthe machine so as to support the bottom of the bott-les 35 while theyare within the'baskets or receptacles This plate 34 terminates above thesprocket wheels 30, and an inclined chute 36 extends downwardly andforwardly from the forward edge of said plate. As the sprocket wheels 8rotate in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 3, the bottles willslide out of their baskets 5 as soon as they have passed the said plate,and will be conducted by the chute 36 to the belt carrier on theexterior cleaner.

For driving the belt carrier, a bevel pinion 37 is secured to the shaft23, said pinion meshing with a bevel gear 38 that is keyed, or otherwisesecured, to the shaft 27.

F rom the description thus given, it will be understood that both of thesaid endless carriers are moved with comparatively slow speed, thecarrier for the exterior cleaner moving in the direction of the arrowshown in Figs. 2 and 3. Spaced suitable distances apart on said carrier,and connected to the transverse cleats thereof, are outwardly projectingbrushes 39, against which the bottom of the bottles are adapted to bepressed, as they are being cleaned, or scrubbed, by the mechanism now tobe described.

Projecting upwardly from the frame pieces 24 are plates or housings 40,within which are journaled transverse shafts 41 and 42, said shaftsbeing provided, toward their cen- Atral portions, with pairs of sprocketwheels 43 and 44. Upon each pair of said sprocket wheels there ismounted a sprocket chain 45 to which are secured transverse cleats 46,

said cleats being similar to the cleats 33 heretofore described.Projecting from the outer faces of these cleats are bristles 47, saidcleats being so closely positioned that the bristles will be practicallycontinuous. 1 shall, therefore, call this part of the mechanism theendless brush. he shaft 41 is driven from the shaft 10, as shown in Fig.2, by means of a pulley 48 that is secured to the latter shaft, saidpulley having an endless belt 49 passing thereabout, and thence over apulley 50 on the said shaft 41. As the pulleys 48 and 50 are in planesat right angles to each other,

'the belt 49 is properly guided by the guide 95 pulleys 51 and 52 in amanner well understood. lnasmuch as the shaft 10 is driven at a highrate of speed, as compared with the shaft 23, which drives the beltcarrier, and the pulley 50 is smaller in diameter than the pulley 48,the endless brush travels at a much higher velocity than the bottleswhich lie upon the cleats 33 of the belt carrier. Yvhen the bottles aredeposited upon said carrier, they move forwardly therewith until theyare engaged by the rotary brush y47, which will sweep thebottles forwardinto contact with the brushes 39. The said endless brush cleans thecurved surfaces of the bottles, while the bottoms thereof are cleaned bythe brushes 39. To facilitate the cleaning of the bottles, the endlessbrush is given a transverse vmovei'nent with respect to the beltcarrier, which movement rolls the bottles transversely of the carrier,thereby causing the bottoms of the bottles to be thoroughly cleaned byt-he brushes 39. This transverse movement is edected by a bevel pinion53, on the forward end of the shaft 23, which pinion meshes with a bevelpinion 54 on a short vertical shaft that isV mounted in bearings on theside of the housing 40. The upper end of said vertical shaft is providedwith a crank 57, the pin of which projects into an elongated slot 58 ina yoke plate 59 that is mounted upon one of the ends of the shafts 41and 42. The rear end of said plate 59 is bifurcated and is provided witheye-pieces for the shaft 41, the pulley 50 being secured to the shaftbetween the bispeed, a brush so mounted with respect to the carrier thatthe bot-tles on the latter' will be cleaned by the said brush, mechanismfor driv'ing said brush at a relatively high speed, means for movingsaid brush transversely of the carrier, whereby the bottles will beturned during the cleaning operation, and brushes on said carrier forcleaning the bottoms of the bottles.

6. In a machine tor cleaning bottles or like articles, the combinationot an endless carrier t'or the bottles, a brush for cleaning theexteriors of the bottles on the carrier, the brush being so positionedwith respect to the carrier that the exterior ot' the bottles will becleaned during their transit on said carrier, mechanism tor adjustingtoward and trom the brush the portion ot the carrier which is adjacentto said brush, whereby the machine is adapted to clean bottles ofdiierent diameters, and means for holding such portion of the carrier inits adjusted position.

7. In a machine for cleaning bottles or like articles, an endlesscarrier for the bottles, means for delivering the bottles to the carrierso that they will extend lengthwise otl the latter, means for drivingthe carrier at a relatively slow speed, a brush so positioned withrespect to the carrier that the bottles on the latter will be cleaned asthe bottles are carried past said brush, means tor producing a relativetransverse movement between the carrier and brush, whereby the bottleswill be turned as they are being cleaned, and means for varying thedistance between the carrier and the brush whereby the machine isadapted to clean bottles of different sizes. n

8. In a device for cleaning bottles or like articles, an endlesscarrier, brushes mounted upon said carrier, an endless brush sopositioned with respect to the carrier that the bot-tles on the latterwill be cleaned on their sides during their transit on the carrier,means for driving said endless brush at a higher speed than the carrier,whereby the bottoms of the bottles will be forced against the brushes onthe said carrier, and means for moving the endless brush transversely ofthe carrier so that the bottles will be turned thereon and their entireexterior cleaned by said brushes.

In a de 'ice for cleaning bottles or like articles, an endless carrier,brushes mounted upon said carrier, an endless brush so positioned withrespect to the carrier that the bottles on the latter will' be cleanedon their sides during their transit on the carrier, means for drivingsaid brush at a higher speed than the carrier, whereby the bottoms otthe bottles will be forced against the brushes on the said carrier,means for moving t-he endless brush transversely of the carrier so thatthe bottles will be turned thereon, and their entire exterior cleaned bysaid brushes, and mechanism for varying the distance between the carrierand the brush so as to clean bottles ot' different diameters.

10. ln a machine tor cleaning bottles and like articles, a carrier forsaid bottles, means tor cleaning the exterior of the bottles while intransit on said carrier, plates beneath the carrier opposite the saidcleaning means, and means tor raising and lowering said plates wherebythe carrier may be moved toward or from the said cleaning means, wherebythe machine is adapted to operate upon bottles ot' different diameters.

l1. In a machine tor cleaning bottles and like articles, a carrier forsaid bottles, a brush ior cleaning the exterior of the bottles while intransit on said carrier, plates beneath the carrier opposite the saidbrush, means for raising and lowering said plates whereby the carriermay be moved toward or from the said cleaning means, whereby the machineis adapted to operate upon bottles of ditlerent diameters, and means forcausing the bottles to turn while being cleaned.

l2. In a machine for cleaning bottles or like articles, and endlesscarrier for the bottles, bottle cleaning means so mounted with respectto said carrier that the bottles on the latter will be cleaned duringtheir transit, plates beneath the carrier opposite said cleaning means,pivoted links supporting said plates, a shaft, means whereby said shaftmay be rocked, cranks on said shaft, and connections between said cranksand said plates whereby the latter may be raised or lowered by rockingthe said links, and the carrier will thus be moved toward or from thecleaning means, so that the machine may operate upon bottles ofdifferent diameters.

13. In a machine for cleaning bottles or like articles, an endlesscarrier for the bottles, a' rotary brush so mounted with respect to saidcarrier that the bottles on the latter will be cleaned during theirtransit, plates beneath the carrier opposite said brush, pivoted linkssupporting said plates, a shaft, means whereby said sha-ft may berocked, cranks on said shaft, connections between said cranks and saidplates whereby the latter may be raised or lowered by rocking the saidlinks, and the carrier will thus be moved toward or from the brush, sothat the machine may operate upon bottles of diiferent diameters, and apawl and ratchet mechanism for holding the shaft and the carrier inposition.

14. In a machine for cleaning bottles or like articles, an endlessbrush, means for 0perating said brush, means for supporting the bottlesin position to be operated upon by said brush, and mechanism for movingsaid brush while rotating so as to turn the bottles.

l5. In a machine for cleaning bott-les or carrier, a yoke plateconnecting` said at one end, said plate being` provided with aV saidbrush, an endless br sh mounted over said supporting' means, means fordriif'inrgY said brush, and mechanism for producing a relativetransverse increment between said supp-ort and the brush Ywhereby thebottles the latter and the bottoms of t are turned b l the bottlescleaned by the brush on the said supporting` means.

1T. ln machine tor cleaning' bottles and lik(l aiticleQ f ans forsupporting' ther bot-- tles, a brasa on said ineansQsaid bott es beine'adapted to lie With thenl bottoms against said bi i, an endless brushmounted over said supportine' mear means 'roi' d"'\'ing' said ln'ush,and .inec the lianisin for inovii rotary brush trans ,ly ot the bott-lesupporting' means, Whe;c tie bottles are turned as they are Cleaned.

lis?. ln a machine ter cleaning' bottles and like articles, a carriertor the liotles, an endless brush so mounted with respect to the carrierthat the bottles are cleai'ied thereby when in transit, said brushbeine' mounted upon sha `ts transvei `e to the len carrier, a y( e plateconnecting` at one end, said plate being providec with a slot, a crrnkshaft, means tor turning' said shatt, and a crank on said shaft having'a pin j n'ojectinginto sa l slot in the plate whereby, as said crankrotates, the brush will be shifted transversely ot' the carrier and thebottles Will be turned ivhile being cleaned.

1f). En a machine for cleaning,l bottles and like articles, a carriert'or the bottles, an endless brush so mourned ivith respect to thecarrier that the bottles are cleaned thereby when in transit, said brushbein;l n'iounted upon shafts transverse to the length ot said snaiqtsslot, a crank shaft, means for turning' said shaft, a crank on saidshaft having` a pin projectingl into said slot i the plate, Whereby, assaid crank rotates, the brush Will be shifted transa'erselj7 ot thecarrier and the bottles Will be turned While being cleaned, and meanst'or moving the carrier toward and troni the lntisli as to clean bottlesoit' ditl'erent diameters. Y

20. 1n a device for cleaning bottles or like articles, the combinationot an endless carrier, brushes mounted upon said carrier, an endlessbrush so positioned with respect to the carrier that bottles on thelatter will be cleaned on their sides during their transit on thecarrier, means for driving said brush at a higher speed than the carrierwhereby the bottoms oi the bottles will be forced against the brushes onsaid carrier, and means tor causing relative transverse movement betweenthe carrier and the brush whereby the bottles on said carrier Will berotated.

21. ln a machine for cleaning bottles and like articles, the combinationof a carrier for the bottles, an endless brush adjacent to said carrier,and means for moving` a portion of said carrier toward and from saidbrush to accommodate bottles oli dili'erent diameters therebetween.

22. 1n a machine for cleaning, bottles and like articles, thecombination ot' an endless carrier for the bottles, an endless brushmounted in proximity to said carrier, means for rotating said brusn, andmeans for moving to and trom said brush and for supporting in positionthe portion et the cai'- rier which is adjacent thereto.

Q3. ln a machine for cleaning bottles and like articles, the combinationof a carrier for bottles, an endless brush mounted in proximity' to saidcarrier, and means for causing the bottles on the carrier to be rotatedin reverse directions While subjected to the action ot' the brush.

2li. ln a machine Jroi' cleaning,` bottles or like articles, thecombination of a carrier, an endless brush, means tor rotating` saidbrush, and means Ytor reciprocating said brush transversely With respectto said carrier.

Q5. 1n a machine for cleaning` bottles and like articles, thecombination of a carrier, an endless brush mounted adjacent to saidcarrier, means for reciprocating said brush transversely of the carrier,means for delivering bottles onto said carrier, and means movable withthe brush, during its reciprocation ttor moving' said bottles laterallyon said carrier to bring them into position for being cleaned by thebrush.

1n testimony whereof, l hereunto affix my signature in the presence oftivo Witnesses.

GEORGE R. T AVRENCE.

Witnesses S. E. Fontes, J. B. HULL.

